Exports of Ukrainian grain will not reach 3 million tons in November as Russia tries to limit ship inspections at ports, Ukraine's Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said late Sunday.
In October, some 4.2 million tons of grain left Ukrainian ports, Kubrakov said on his Facebook page.
"It was the custom to conduct 40 inspections a day, now, due to Russia's position, there are five times fewer checks," he said.
A Türkiye and U.N.-brokered deal aimed at easing global food shortages by helping Ukraine export its agricultural products and protecting the transit corridor from three Black Sea ports, which was originally reached in July, was extended for four months in mid-November. So far, some 11.08 million tons of agricultural products have been shipped because of the deal, including 4.5 million tons of corn.
Ukraine and Russia are major global grain exporters. They agreed that teams would check the vessels to ensure no barred people or goods were arriving at or departing from Ukrainian ports.
But Ukraine's exports have gotten off to a slower start with Kyiv putting the blame on Russia's reluctance to speed up ship inspections.
Kubrakov said 77 ships were queuing to pass the inspection in Türkiye while the three Black Sea ports use up to only 50% of their capacity.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in September that Russia and the developing world had been "cheated" by the Ukrainian grain export deal, delivering the grain to developed nations.
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hosted a summit in Kyiv with allied nations to launch a plan to export $150 million worth of grain to countries most vulnerable to famine and drought.
Ukraine announced plans to feed at least 5 million people facing acute hunger by the end of spring 2023, through the "Grain From Ukraine" initiative, supported by the World Food Programme and first presented at the G-20 summit in Bali.
